After my disappointing bout with Western medicine for Reflux I contracted Bronchitis, something that I did not have the pleasure of suffering for almost twenty years. I think that it was brought on by the reflux. Some of the fluid that would rise up during the night got into my lungs and caused a bronchial infection, at least that is what my doctor hypothesized. At any rate, I had suggested to him that I not go on the Caribbean cruise that my wife and booked for my sixtieth birthday. He told me that it would be the best thing for me to go on the cruise.
I had to agree with my doctor that he was right, after only one day in the Caribbean all signs of my Bronchitis had disappeared. Unfortunately, I still had Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR). The flight down to Houston through Atlanta did not bother me and all of the maneuvering to get to the boat did not cause me any undue effects which I found surprising. It was all stressful but not in the same way that work is stressful so it does not have the same effect on the body which I found to be interesting.
Our first night on board the boat was busy. we were tired by the time we went to bed. I slept fitfully until 4:00 AM when I woke up in a coughing fit brought on by my LPR. I wrote for a while in my journal then I went off to the fitness center at 6:00 AM to practice Qigong.
There was so much food on board that it was difficult to decide what to eat. i tried to pick food that was not going to aggravate my reflux. Breakfast and lunch were fine because I could choose whatever I wanted in the Garden Cafe which was a full service buffet. Dinner was a little more difficult. We wanted to try the various sit restaurants on board. The food was excellent but the trouble was that the food was rich and inevitably I caused my reflux to act up as soon as we started eating. I found that I had to drink massive amounts of water just to get the food down my throat which somewhat dampened my enjoyment of the meal.
That night, I woke around 12:30 AM coughing with phlegm in my throat. I went back to sleep but I was awake again a 1;30 AM, and the phlegm was coming out of my mouth before I could make it to the bathroom.
After a few days on the boat I was finding it to be more and more difficult to find food that I could eat that was not going to bother or worsen my reflux. Every meal became a struggle to eat. I had to be very careful that mindful about everything that I ate. There were so many good things to eat but the number of things that I could actually eat was a very small subset of everything that was available.
There were a few times that I threw caution to the wind and indulged myself. My wife and I were at an art showing one evening. They were offering large glasses of red wine so I had one. I was just going to take a few sips and put it down
On the second last day on board the ship I decided to go and talk to the acupuncturist on board. the acupuncturist actually had a practice in Washington D.C. He was taking advantage of combining work with a vacation, it sounded like a great idea to me. At any rate, I told him about my symptoms and how I felt at the time. It was interesting that his recommendations were very close to what my acupuncturist at home had done. At the very least, it gave me confidence that she was doing what other acupuncturist would do. What took me by surprise was his $175 fee for one sessions. That is more than twice what my acupuncturist charges me. Since it was the last night that I was going to be on board I did not see any reason to start a course of treatment so I left.
The cruise finished and my wife and I went home. Don't get me wrong, the cruise was great in spite of suffering with acute reflux, I worked around it for meals. Other than meal time, it really did not bother me.
If you are interested in my cruise, here is the link for the series of blog posts for my cruise,caribbean-cruise-day-1.html .
Fish Baked in Banana Leaves
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
1/3 cup canned coconut milk
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup chopped green onion, optional
4 pieces of fish fillets, (tilapia, cod or basa)
4 large banana leaves defrosted.
In a blender add cilantro, ginger, coconut milk, coconut. Blend until smooth.
Place one banana leave on a cookie sheet Place a fish fillet in the middle Top each piece of fish with 1/4 of the paste from the blender. Sprinkle with green onions if using. Fold the banana leaf like wrapping a present. Tie with string, or make sure the opening is on the bottom to keep the package from opening. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, depending of the size of the fillet.
Unwrap carefully and serve with steamed rice.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Reflux and Drugs
Let me start off by saying that I hate taking drugs. I do not even like taking aspirin which usually I don't because I rarely have a headache. Even if I did have a headache I would use some natural method to treat it like acupressure to the point on my hand between the thumb and the first finger. So, it was with great reluctance that I decided to fill my doctor's prescription after keeping it attached to the side of our refrigerator with a magnet.
One Sunday afternoon, my wife and I went to the pharmacy to fill my prescription. There were two drugs that my doctor prescribed for me; Dexlansoprazole Dexlansoprazole and Domperidone Domperidone. Dexlansoprazole is designed to reduced the amount of acid in your stomach. It part of a class of drugs referred to as proton pump inhibitors. Dexlansoprazole works by arresting the final step in acid production in the stomach thereby reducing acid in the stomach. Domperidone is used to help empty the stomach after eating.
I took one Domperidone before lunch and it seemed to help. I took another one before dinner and it had a similar effect. For the first few days I took three Domperidone and two Dexlansoprazole every day as prescribed. After a few days I realized that although my stomach was feeling better and my reflux symptoms seemed to be getting better I was experiencing a constant low grade headache that did not go away and I realized that I was experiencing a constant elevated heart rate, it was as if I was constantly exercising.
I decided to cut back on the Domperidone, instead of three a day, I only took two a day. My elevated heart rate was less noticeable but the constant headache did not go away. Then I had the experience of taking the Delansoprazole too close to the time when I was practicing Qigong in the evening. After about five minutes of practice I felt the pill rise back up into my throat. I lost most of the contents of the capsule in the bathroom sink. After that, I took the pill after my practice.
The Dexlansoprazole and the Domperidone seemed to be working well for me for about two weeks and then it just stopped working. All the symptoms came back. In fact, taking these drugs actually seemed to make my condition worse. I woke up one night about two in the morning coughing. I got up and went to the bathroom where I vomited the contents of my stomach. I was really beginning to think that this medication was not working for me. It was about this time that I decided to go back to the literature on these drugs and read the sections about side effects. I was a little surprised by what I found.
Long term use of Dexlansoprazole is not recommended by the FDA because of the side effects. Because Delansoprazole works by reducing acid in the stomach it also interferes with the absorption of iron, calcium. magnesium and vitamin B12, all are important minerals in our daily lives. There is also a risk of contracting pneumonia because the reduction in stomach acid makes it more likely that hostile bacteria can attack your system. There is an increased risk of C- difficle for much the same reason, disrupting the environment of the gut makes it more likely that bacteria like C - difficle can attack the body.
I am not saying that you should never take Dexlansoprazole or any other proton pump inhibitor. What I am saying is that you need to fully aware of the benefits and the side effects of these drugs before you start taking them and then use these drugs with caution. You should never use these drugs longer than necessary.
Here is another delicious recipe that I find very easy to eat with reflux.
Potato and Kale Soup
1 slice of bacon, cut up small
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered.
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon thyme
salt & pepper to taste
1 box chicken stock
4 cups water
1/2 bunch of kale, sliced
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Cook bacon in a large pot until brown. Add potatoes and leeks. Stir until the leeks are softened. Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, stir until vegetables are slightly wilted.
Add water and chicken stock. Bring it up to a boil, turn down to simmer for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
Add kale and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until kale is wilted. Stir in Worcestershire sauce. Carefully puree soup in a blender until smooth. Serve topped with sour cream.
One Sunday afternoon, my wife and I went to the pharmacy to fill my prescription. There were two drugs that my doctor prescribed for me; Dexlansoprazole Dexlansoprazole and Domperidone Domperidone. Dexlansoprazole is designed to reduced the amount of acid in your stomach. It part of a class of drugs referred to as proton pump inhibitors. Dexlansoprazole works by arresting the final step in acid production in the stomach thereby reducing acid in the stomach. Domperidone is used to help empty the stomach after eating.
I took one Domperidone before lunch and it seemed to help. I took another one before dinner and it had a similar effect. For the first few days I took three Domperidone and two Dexlansoprazole every day as prescribed. After a few days I realized that although my stomach was feeling better and my reflux symptoms seemed to be getting better I was experiencing a constant low grade headache that did not go away and I realized that I was experiencing a constant elevated heart rate, it was as if I was constantly exercising.
I decided to cut back on the Domperidone, instead of three a day, I only took two a day. My elevated heart rate was less noticeable but the constant headache did not go away. Then I had the experience of taking the Delansoprazole too close to the time when I was practicing Qigong in the evening. After about five minutes of practice I felt the pill rise back up into my throat. I lost most of the contents of the capsule in the bathroom sink. After that, I took the pill after my practice.
The Dexlansoprazole and the Domperidone seemed to be working well for me for about two weeks and then it just stopped working. All the symptoms came back. In fact, taking these drugs actually seemed to make my condition worse. I woke up one night about two in the morning coughing. I got up and went to the bathroom where I vomited the contents of my stomach. I was really beginning to think that this medication was not working for me. It was about this time that I decided to go back to the literature on these drugs and read the sections about side effects. I was a little surprised by what I found.
Long term use of Dexlansoprazole is not recommended by the FDA because of the side effects. Because Delansoprazole works by reducing acid in the stomach it also interferes with the absorption of iron, calcium. magnesium and vitamin B12, all are important minerals in our daily lives. There is also a risk of contracting pneumonia because the reduction in stomach acid makes it more likely that hostile bacteria can attack your system. There is an increased risk of C- difficle for much the same reason, disrupting the environment of the gut makes it more likely that bacteria like C - difficle can attack the body.
I am not saying that you should never take Dexlansoprazole or any other proton pump inhibitor. What I am saying is that you need to fully aware of the benefits and the side effects of these drugs before you start taking them and then use these drugs with caution. You should never use these drugs longer than necessary.
Here is another delicious recipe that I find very easy to eat with reflux.
Potato and Kale Soup
1 slice of bacon, cut up small
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered.
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon thyme
salt & pepper to taste
1 box chicken stock
4 cups water
1/2 bunch of kale, sliced
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Cook bacon in a large pot until brown. Add potatoes and leeks. Stir until the leeks are softened. Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, stir until vegetables are slightly wilted.
Add water and chicken stock. Bring it up to a boil, turn down to simmer for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
Add kale and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until kale is wilted. Stir in Worcestershire sauce. Carefully puree soup in a blender until smooth. Serve topped with sour cream.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Reflux and Diet
Acupuncture helped my LPR but I still had it. I had been reading that diet could help. After some searching in the library I found a book with an interesting title, "Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet, Cookbook and Cure", By Jamie Koufman, M.D. and Jordan Stern, M.D. with French Master Chef Marc Bauer. Dropping-Acid-Reflux-Diet-Cookbook
One of the first things that I learned from this book was that it is not stomach acid that is the problem, it is actually a digestive enzyme called pepsin Pepsin. Pepsin only works when acid is present and it does not care what acid it uses. It will use the acid in our food or it will attack the lining of the throat or esophagus. The authors go on to show the damage that pepsin can do to a body consuming highly acidic foods.
The book gives some steps to get immediate relief from reflux.
1) Don't smoke, it causes reflux.
2) Don't wear tight clothing. especially around the waist.
3) Do not exercise right after eating
4) Do not lie down right after eating, do not eat within 3 hours of bedtime.
5) Elevate the head of your bed if you experience reflux at night.
In the diet section of Dropping Acid, the authors go through , "The Best Foods List", "Best Foods for Refluxer", "Notoriously Bad Reflux Foods". There is a chapter on avoiding acidic foods and beverages. I found that chapter to be especially useful, it has list of the pH of good and bad foods.We did not try them all but the recipes that we did try were very good.
I went through their two week "Induction Diet" and I can say that it further helped reduce my symptoms. I was very much aware of what I could eat and what I could not eat. Basically, any food or beverage with a pH pH less than 5 was off limits. That includes a whole lot foods that I used to eat and enjoy. There were some foods that the diet said I couldn't eat but I could eat them, and other things that I was supposed to be able to eat, but made the reflux worse. I came to realize that this disease has some personal characteristics that you can only come to know through trial and error.
Tomatoes are one of the worst things for reflux, not only tomatoes but tomato sauce, tomato paste, salsa, virtually anything that has a tomato base. I never realized how many foods that we eat that are tomato based or have some sauce or aspect of the dish that contains tomatoes. Like many people in North America, we eat pasta. I would say in a normal week, we would eat pasta at least once, maybe twice and it would usually be pasta with tomato sauce. My wife went to great lengths to come up with a viable pasta dish that was not tomato based. I think she did a great job, I really enjoy the dish that she made and I hope you will too.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It is informative and offers a way to manage reflux without taking drugs. Speaking of drugs, I will write about my experience with reflux drugs in my next post.
Linguine with Clam Sauce
1/2 pound linguine or spaghetti
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme or 1/4 tsp. fresh thyme
salt & pepper
1 - 7 oz can of clams
Bring a large pot of water to boil to cook the spaghetti, add about a tablespoon of salt to the water. Cook according to the package directions until the pasta is tender but not fully cooked. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, in a large saute pan add olive oil. Cooking garlic for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in wine, thyme and clam juice from the can. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the liquid comes to a boil. Stir in clams, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add pasta and toss with tongs. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
One of the first things that I learned from this book was that it is not stomach acid that is the problem, it is actually a digestive enzyme called pepsin Pepsin. Pepsin only works when acid is present and it does not care what acid it uses. It will use the acid in our food or it will attack the lining of the throat or esophagus. The authors go on to show the damage that pepsin can do to a body consuming highly acidic foods.
The book gives some steps to get immediate relief from reflux.
1) Don't smoke, it causes reflux.
2) Don't wear tight clothing. especially around the waist.
3) Do not exercise right after eating
4) Do not lie down right after eating, do not eat within 3 hours of bedtime.
5) Elevate the head of your bed if you experience reflux at night.
In the diet section of Dropping Acid, the authors go through , "The Best Foods List", "Best Foods for Refluxer", "Notoriously Bad Reflux Foods". There is a chapter on avoiding acidic foods and beverages. I found that chapter to be especially useful, it has list of the pH of good and bad foods.We did not try them all but the recipes that we did try were very good.
I went through their two week "Induction Diet" and I can say that it further helped reduce my symptoms. I was very much aware of what I could eat and what I could not eat. Basically, any food or beverage with a pH pH less than 5 was off limits. That includes a whole lot foods that I used to eat and enjoy. There were some foods that the diet said I couldn't eat but I could eat them, and other things that I was supposed to be able to eat, but made the reflux worse. I came to realize that this disease has some personal characteristics that you can only come to know through trial and error.
Tomatoes are one of the worst things for reflux, not only tomatoes but tomato sauce, tomato paste, salsa, virtually anything that has a tomato base. I never realized how many foods that we eat that are tomato based or have some sauce or aspect of the dish that contains tomatoes. Like many people in North America, we eat pasta. I would say in a normal week, we would eat pasta at least once, maybe twice and it would usually be pasta with tomato sauce. My wife went to great lengths to come up with a viable pasta dish that was not tomato based. I think she did a great job, I really enjoy the dish that she made and I hope you will too.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It is informative and offers a way to manage reflux without taking drugs. Speaking of drugs, I will write about my experience with reflux drugs in my next post.
Linguine with Clam Sauce
1/2 pound linguine or spaghetti
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme or 1/4 tsp. fresh thyme
salt & pepper
1 - 7 oz can of clams
Bring a large pot of water to boil to cook the spaghetti, add about a tablespoon of salt to the water. Cook according to the package directions until the pasta is tender but not fully cooked. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, in a large saute pan add olive oil. Cooking garlic for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in wine, thyme and clam juice from the can. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the liquid comes to a boil. Stir in clams, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add pasta and toss with tongs. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
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